JOHN LEE : OCT 3 — With Sept 16 already nearly three weeks in the past, the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim-led Pakatan Rakyat is still dithering on whether it will be taking power any time soon. Many observers are pointing out, as has been done before, that Pakatan seems increasingly fragile, held together only by Anwar and the promise of power.
This is not quite true, for we should not be comparing Pakatan to an ideal political coalition, but the coalition it is challenging — Barisan Nasional. And the fact is, Pakatan is far more united and far more principled than Barisan.
It's easy to see why you might think Pakatan is fracturing and fragmenting. Pas and the DAP can barely sit at the same table. DAP explicitly takes a more classical liberal approach to governance, promoting market-based solutions to poverty where possible, while Pas espouses a welfare state.
DAP demands greater personal freedom and a secular government, while Pas believes social cohesion and moral and religious concerns should take priority over individual liberties. These two parties can hardly sensibly sit down together and speak with one voice, can they? ... MORE
- TMI
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